Welcome to Middle School: 5 Tips for a Healthy Start

Welcome to Middle School: 5 Tips for a Healthy Start

If your sweet and pliable little one has somehow morphed into an adolescent with swinging moods, strong opinions and a wee bit of attitude, there's a good chance you have a middle schooler on your hands. Our best advice? Don't panic - but do buckle up. The next three years are likely to be equal parts challenging, joyous and perplexing.

Your child is leaving the relative ease of elementary school and entering a new world with larger school buildings, multiple teachers and classes, more freedom and more personal responsibility. Experts say this shift from elementary to middle is one of the most intense social and biological transitions in a child's life.

As the parent of a middle schooler, you might be on the sidelines more often than before, but your support and involvement remain critical. With open communication and your support, your child can explore their talents and passions and master life skills for success in high school and beyond.

To help you navigate this new chapter, we conducted some research and came up with these 5 tips - and one middle school "hack" - to get your student off to an awesome start:

• Prioritize Sleep and Breakfast. Children learn best when they are well-rested and well-fed. Help your student set consistent bedtime and morning routines. According to medical experts, preteens need nine to 12 hours of sleep, while teens should get eight to 10 hours. Top that off in the morning with healthy proteins, fresh fruit and whole grains to promote concentration, attention span and memory skills throughout the day.
• Expect More Homework. Middle school students can easily have one to two hours of homework each night, so make sure your child has a quiet place to work and any necessary school supplies or school-approved technology. It's also important to establish a consistent homework routine, starting around the same time every evening.

Middle School Student Hack:
Visit your child's middle school website and print a map of the school campus. Write your student's new schedule - 1st Period: Biology, Room 101 - onto the map for them as a handy reference when navigating their new campus.

• Encourage New Interests. Allow your student to explore their passions, hone their talents and even build friend groups in new ways. Don't be surprised if they want to experiment with their personal style, changing how they dress or wear their hair. Be flexible and open-minded - it's all part of discovering who they are.
• Let Them Fail. Breathe deep and take your hands off the wheel. If your middle schooler leaves a notebook or device or even their lunch at home, perhaps you don't bail them out and deliver it to school. Although it won't be easy, letting them learn from mistakes will serve them well in the future. Failure can be a powerful teacher.
• Help Them Get Organized. Middle schoolers' brains are still developing, and that can often make time management and attention to detail a hard reach. Give them an edge with a central app, agenda or digital planner to keep track of assignments and deadlines. Take the time to check their progress and reward productivity and initiative when you see it.

Major transitions can be one of the most challenging parts of growing up - for them, and for you as the parent. And while the shift to middle school is one of the roughest, these tips can actually help you navigate other transitions as well.

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